THE BRIGHTON BUNCH

@orrin.pierre orrinsaintpierre.com

The ‘Brighton Bunch’ as they’d been dubbed, were camped together in the far corner of the orchard. Work was as important as play for the group. Whether they were picking apples, identifying and collecting mushrooms, using berries as slingshot ammo, or taking off on their bikes to fish in the stream nearby – it was all just as significant as the fire-lit party that followed. I’d met two of them, the brothers Leo and Eli, the previous year. Leo had recently bought a horse trailer which he was converting into a live-in space, though he’d yet to find a car to tow it with.

Phil

I met Phil coming back from the picking one day. We bonded over our mutual attire - wearing raincoats in the heat of the day. With the trees being so dense, a raincoat is your best bet in order to protect yourself and your arms. ‘Grumpy old Phil’ has become a bit of a staple at the orchard. Most people come and go with the picking season, but he’s been camped there for the past three years. He told me stories of all the places he’d been - often finding himself solitary one way or another. Though he is content with his own company, I still got the feeling that he finds it lonely living alone in the orchard most of the year.